A Day in the Life
by Angel Demoness
Summary: What is it like to live in Azkaban Wizard Prison? This is a fic from Sirius's point of view all about his life in Azkaban
1. A Day in the Life

Sirius Black, murderer. Sirius Black, convict. That's what everyone thought, but everyone thought wrong.  
"I'm innocent!" Sirius would cry in anguish as the thought. The very thought kept him alive. How could everyone think that he'd betray his friends? His best friends, no less. Lilly and James were dead. Sirius wasn't even allowed at their funeral. Sirius's thoughts wandered to Harry as the furious cry of a sleeping death eater rang out through the silence.  
'Where is Harry now?' Sirius wondered. He saw Hagrid come to take the baby the night Lilly and James had been killed. Hagrid had said that Dumbledore wanted him. Sirius really doubted that neither Hagrid nor Dumbledore were now the primary caretakers. Hagrid being a half giant would have been the object of too much slander if he were to take Harry in. People wouldn't be able to understand how a giant could care for a baby. Dumbledore was a busy man and probably couldn't take the baby either. Both James's parents had died but Sirius didn't know about Lilly's family. She never talked about them. All he knew was that they're muggles. Sirius figured that the reasonable place for Harry was then with Lilly's family but they're muggles. They wouldn't understand Harry as well as a wizard family. They wouldn't understand what had happened; what had brought him to them.  
'If only Peter hadn't done what he did. That bastard!' Sirius thought angrily. 'If only we hadn't switched to him.If only I had been kept secret keeper.'  
There were many men and women in Azkaban with Sirius, most of them death eaters or ex-death eaters. They all talked in their sleep; some talked out loud in a random fashion having lost their minds. From listening to them all, Sirius gathered that they weren't a very cheerful lot. They all slept a lot, including Sirius himself. There's not much else to do in a wizard prison like Azkaban. In most of these prisoner's sleep, however, their deepest and darkest fears were revealed- who they were mad at as well as lots of shouts of 'Damn that Peter Pettigrew!' or 'Damn that Harry Potter!' It was obvious whom people blamed for their leader's downfall that's for sure.  
Dementors floated past Sirius's cell, causing the air to grow cold and Sirius to shudder. With every day he spent in there the happiness inside him died even more. His mind however stayed the same. He didn't feel as though he were going mad like so many of the other prisoners held captive on the dreadful island.  
Sirius could hear more dementors approaching, carrying someone with them. As they floated past Sirius squinted at the man who gave him a wary smile. There was something about that man.something familiar.  
"It's Hagrid," whispered Sirius in shock. He debated whether or not to say hi but decided against it. Hagrid may not recognize him even, the bitterness of the prison having gotten the best of him. And anyway, Hagrid probably still thought Sirius to be guilty, like most everyone else. It occurred to Sirius that Hagrid would know what had happened to Harry- whether or not he was well. By this time though, Hagrid and the dementors were too far away.  
"Damn!" Sirius swore quietly to himself, "What the hell is Hagrid in here for anyway?"  
Sirius had no way to get answers to his questions except to shout down the hall at Hagrid. 'Yeah that would be great,' Sirius thought, 'Yeah that would be a great welcome to prison. Hey Hagrid, it's Sirius. I'm no madman! I'm just shouting across wizard prison to you to ask about Harry Potter. No, that's not suspicious at all.' Sirius couldn't help but roll his eyes at the thought. He figured that Hagrid must have been put in on accident, like himself. Innocent men among the millions of dark witches and wizards. Reassuring thought. As the dementors strode back past Sirius the air grew cold and heavy and all thoughts of Hagrid went with them as Sirius drifted off to sleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Sirius awoke just in time to see Cornelius Fudge, minister of magic,  
walking by regally and cautiously.  
"Hello, sir," said Sirius cheerfully, just happy to see another human being. Fudge stopped suddenly and looked taken aback as he answered, "Oh, hello Sirius." He nodded and went on.  
Sirius didn't stop to wonder what Fudge was doing in Azkaban. It was probably one of his weekly visits to the prison. Sirius wished he knew the date.and time. There are no clocks in Azkaban- crazy people have no need for clocks or calendars or any sort of time telling device. It's always dark in Azkaban, lit only by a couple candles lining the halls. This was a problem for Sirius as he couldn't even use the brightness to estimate time. Having just awakened it seemed like the middle of the night to Sirius but he couldn't be sure.  
Sirius could hear the familiar clacking of Fudge's shoes approaching and as they drew near he asked politely, "What time is it sir?"  
"Near 3 pm," Fudge answered, continuing forward determinedly.  
Sirius sighed. He was hungry but the food wouldn't arive until maybe 6. It would be a long wait. He might as well sleep some more.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Sirius jerked his wand out, aiming it at Peter Pettigrew, known as Wormtail.  
"How could you do that?" Sirius demanded, "How could you betray your friends like that? How could you give them up for the sake of the Dark?" Sirius was angrier than he had ever been in his life.  
Peter squeaked and looked around wildly.  
"I.I." he stuttered. Suddenly he pulled out his wand and shot a curse behind his back just before cutting off a finger and transforming into the rat that he was. Sirius realized what Peter had done and laughed long and hard. He knew at once he could never see happiness for a long while. He'd be taken off to Azkaban for sure.  
  
"NOO!" Sirius yelled, sitting up in bed. He was sweating and shaking violently. That dream hadn't haunted him for years.  
"I need to get out of here," Sirius whispered with a slight whistle, as he started to devise a plan. He transformed into a dog and began to think of a plan- a plan that wouldn't be brought to action for another year. 


	2. The Escape

Padfoot paced quickly in his cell, devising and perfecting his plan of action- his plan of escape.  
'I can't use magic.nothing but will power,' thought Sirius, concentrating hard on the task at hand. A few dementors floated past but paid no notice to the shaggy black dog pacing in the cell. Padfoot simply ignored the dementors and the shiver that came with and continued to pace determinedly. Suddenly, he jerked his head up and released a quiet bark of joy.  
'The dementors don't even notice that I'm a dog! They can't see me, of course, they feel my emotions. I can't feel human to them.' Padfoot began to think. He transformed back into his human form and laughed, 'They think I'm losing my mind! Like everyone else in here.'  
Sirius sat down on the hard excuse for a bed and shut his eyes.  
'Mental stimulation like that sure wears a guy down,' he thought with a smirk.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Sirius heard the sound of footsteps before he was even awake and opened one eye wearily just in time to see Cornelius Fudge strolling past.  
"Hello, sir!" smiled Sirius, sitting up and running his hand through his hair in an attempt to straighten up, "Good day?"  
"Why, yes, thanks," Fudge replied cautiously as though expecting Sirius to jump at him through the bars. He tightened his grip on the rolled parchment in his hand, thus catching Sirius's eye.  
"Is that the Daily Prophet, sir?" asked Sirius curiously, eyes bright.  
Fudge glanced down at the parchment now held tightly within his fist, "Oh, yes, I suppose it is."  
"If you're finished with it, could I maybe have it?"  
"Oh!" Fudge looked up at Sirius in shock, "Yes I am. Here." Fudge handed over the paper and eyed Sirius through the magical bars.  
"It gets pretty boring in here," said Sirius with a shrug as he turned to page 7. "I used to love the crossword."  
Fudge smiled politely and nodded, "I'd best be going."  
Sirius said nothing as Fudge walked away, and sat cross-legged on the floor staring at the puzzle with a child-like grin on his face. After a short while, Sirius grunted and flipped the newspaper back to the front cover, readying himself to stretch. Swiftly and suddenly he plopped back down and stared intently at the picture of the large group of redheads, all waving merrily up at him. He smiled unenthusiastically when the young girl in the front of the photo blew him a kiss. He instead focused his gaze upon the rat sitting on one of the young boys' head.  
  
"Wormtail," he whispered, "You little rascal."  
  
Sirius watched the picture for some time, staring intently at the row of redheads but focusing on the tall boy, whom the article stated was going to be starting his third year at Hogwarts. Sirius added up the dates in his head and realized with a jolt that Harry would be starting his third year as well. 'What if they're in the same house? Harry will be living with a servant of his parent's murders then.I have to get out of here!'  
  
* * * * *  
  
5 Weeks Later  
  
Sirius waited anxiously for group of dementors delivering food to all the prisoners. It wasn't that he was hungry, however. He had other reasons of his own. The dementors floated slowly, soaking in all the negative energy in the area as they approached Sirius's cell. As they grew nearer, Sirius transformed into a dog and got into position. The first dementor undid the lock and opened the door to let the second dementor slip the food bowl through. Padfoot, however, was ready for this and slipped carefully through the space created by the open door. The dementor turned around quickly but didn't grab Padfoot. 'If dementors had faces, this one would look confused,' laughed Padfoot as he trodded away from his cell, past the empty eyed prisoners, and out the stone wall entrances of Azkaban Prison. Intense sunlight hit his face as he transformed into back into a human. He laid down on the sand for a few short seconds, basking in the glory of being free, then transformed into a dog and stepped into the water, ready to swim as far away from the past 12 years as he possibly could. 


End file.
